>My point is, I can go to a store that doesn't have a discount card program, buy the exact same items, and spend about the same amount of money...and get better service and quality.
>
>Stores that use discount cards raise prices on the "non-sale" items to make up the difference. Shortly after Albertson's first introduced cards here, I emailed and told them I would no longer shop there because of the cards and that I knew how they made up the price difference. Their reply was, "our research shows customers prefer them". What they didn't tell me was the exact questions they asked.

Whichever marketing agency (or a solo player in their own house) sold them the idea to introduce the cards, must have been smart enough to pull up some sort of research in favor of what they were selling.

>As I've talked to people, I have yet to find anyone that prefers the card over not having it. When Albertson's started using the card, I noticed my food bill actually increased. Albertson's was bought last year by two different companies. One dropped the cards in their stores, the other still uses them.

We've just adjusted our buying habits. We simply remember the prices of the stuff we buy, and when the price of something isn't what it used to be, we skip that item. OTOH, if we do like something, we don't care how cheap it may be. They do cycle those things - if there's a discount on sausage, there won't be any on cheese etc. So OK, we buy cheese next time.

But the worst offender are the items you buy on a whim. They were probably displayed right under your nose, i.e. at eye level, at a strategically chosen place, and the price was boosted up just below the threshold of pain. If you resist buying that right away, you'll find the same thing cheaper elsewhere.

Over the years, our grocery bill shrank, despite the inflation.